Chile Buying American for Low-Level Air Defense?
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In November 2009, Chile submitted a pair of purchase requests to the US DSCA whose net effect would be to create a mobile short-range air defense system for its army. Chile’s Ejercito currently relies on MBDA’s shoulder-fired Mistral missiles for this role, but the addition of Avenger fire units and Sentinel radars would offer quantum leaps forward in mobility and battlefield awareness.
Rebounds in commodity prices have helped several nations, Chile among them. The country’s goal is to modernize their military by 2015, and mechanized forces seem to be playing a much greater role in the new structure. Recent military purchases have included Leopard 2A4 tanks and Marder IFVs from Germany, M113 variants from the USA and Belgium, and upgraded M109 self-propelled howitzers. They are also reportedly modifying the Army’s structure by adding armored brigades throughout their entire territory. Mobile forces need mobile protection, however – hence the current half-billion dollar request set…
Sentinels, Avengers, and Stingers
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ThalesRaytheon’s AN/APQ-64 Sentinel is the USA’s standard short-medium range air defense radar. It is generally mounted on a trailer, and towed into position. The addition of Sentinel radars to this order will provide the Avenger units with longer-range (up to 75 km/ 47 mile) awareness of incoming threats, allowing slew-to-cue that puts their electro-optical targeting sensors on target as soon as the threat is within range.
Raytheon’s FIM-92 Stinger is one of the world’s best-known shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, and its combination IR/UV seeker makes it more accurate and harder to decoy. Its engagement range is limited to about 3 miles/ 5 km, but dispersing the firing units and networking them with longer-range sensors can improve overall coverage. The USA will be replacing Stngers in mobile roles with a longer-range and more expensive system, based on improved Sentinel radars and AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles; nevertheless, Stingers will continue to see service in the USA and many other militaries for years to come.
Boeing’s Avenger system mounts 8 Stinger missiles on a Humvee jeep, along with an FN M3P .50 cal machine gun, and automated systems that include optical sights, infrared, a laser rangefinder, and an IFF (Identification Friend-Or-Foe) system. In 1998, modifications began that upgraded some systems to “slew-to-cue,” which automatically slews the turret to place the sights on targets received from FAAD (Forward Area Air Defense) Command and Control systems.
Egypt’s Avenger orders recently re-started the production line, to the benefit of other interested customers.
Peer competitors include MBDA’s Mistral-based Atlas and Albi systems, and KMW’s missile-agnostic LeFlaySys/ASRAD. Israel’s Spyder, which uses the same Python missiles employed by Chile’s air force but can also mount the radar-guided Derby 4, is a longer-range and more capable take on the same LLAD concept.
Contracts and Key Events
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Note that DSCA requests are not contracts. If Congress does not block the request within 30 days, negotiations can begin for related contracts.
Nov 12/09: The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces Chile’s official request to buy 6 AN/MPQ-64F1 Improved Sentinel radar systems, 6 AN/VRC-92E Vehicular Dual Long-Range Single Channel Airborne and Ground Radio Systems (SINCGARS) and associated parts, plus the required spare and repair parts, tool and test equipment, repair and return, software support, support equipment, training, and other forms of engineering, technical, and logistics support.
ThalesRaytheon makes the AN/MPQ-64 F1 Improved Sentinel radar, and the estimated cost of all requested items is $65 million.
The systems would significantly extend the capability of Chile’s other purchase request…
Nov 12/09: The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces Chile’s official request to buy:
- 36 Avenger systems
- An unspecified number of S250 Shelters that mount on High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV)
- 36 AN/VRC-92E Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio Systems (SINCGARS)
- 378 FIM-92 Stinger Reprogrammable Micro-Processor (RMP) Block 1 Anti-Aircraft missiles
- 42 Captive Flight Trainers (CFTs) with seekers but no motors
- 12 STINGER Block 1 “Buy-to-Fly” missiles for testing and training purposes
- Plus the required spare and repair parts, tool and test equipment, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, and other related elements of support.
The estimated cost is $455 million. Raytheon makes the FIM-92 Stinger missile, and FN USA makes the machine gun, but Boeing is the prime contractor for the Avenger system as a whole.
Appendix A: Chile’s Military Funding Laws
Most of Chile’s mining by volume is done by 100% state-owned Codelco, the world’s biggest copper producer. In 1958 a tax was introduced on mining profits (Ley Reservada del Cobre 13,196) and changes made under the Pinochet regime in the 70’s and 80’s have been directly funding the military with 10% of Codelco’s exports since then.
This has been debated recently in Chile because this limits civil control over military expenditure while the strong ups and downs of copper prices have little to do with actual FFAA (Fuerzas Armadas or Armed Forces) procurement needs. A new defense funding law project was introduced by President Bachelet’s administration in September 2009, and explained [in Spanish] by the Ministerio de Defensa Nacional.
Presidential elections will occur in December 2009. Bachelet can’t run, but the leading contenders seem favorable to reform. The project was to be reviewed by Congress, along with other proposed statutory changes for Codelco, but it was unclear whether this process has already been completed when this entry was published in November 2009.
